Nico di Angelo and The Post-Disaster Year
by Peeta Melark
Summary: Sequel to "Annabeth Chase And the Olympus Institution For Troubled Youth." Nico di Angelo has cheated death, Annabeth too. Percy is worried about graduation, Thalia misses Bianca, Piper's dad won't give her the time of day, and everyone else is too preoccupied with their own demons to notice. With everything hanging on the edge of a cliff (it's a metaphor), what's left to do? AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Nico**

Summer breaks were always boring to me. That's why I was glad to get back to school. Dear, sweet, familiar school. Oh, beautiful school that tried to kill me in my freshman year. Its beauty was comparable to that of a weasel and the welcoming air almost precisely like sour milk, but it was home. The lights flickered as I walked down the miserable, grimy hallway, and there were still bits of molding, crumbling paper clinging to the bulletin boards. Hey—beauty is in the eye of the beholder, _not_ in the eye of the actual person who photographs it. And who would want to photograph our school anyways? Sure, it was _supposedly_ one of the best schools for nutcases like me, but it was _hardly_ photogenic. Most of the kids looked like they'd just rolled out of Hell every morning, and the teachers were no better.

My dad didn't walk me to the door. More like I wouldn't _let_ him walk me to the door. He wanted to make sure nothing tried to kill me, and I tried to convince him that I would be fine. Nothing had gone wrong until a few months _into_ the school year anyways. _That_ was when things started going downhill. Suffice to say, Dad wasn't too convinced, but he let me go alone because I begged him.

Locker 666, my locker, was as dismal as ever. There was a dent in it, and there was some blood from when my head had been bashed into it a couple of times. Annabeth's locker stood next to it, paint still chipping, still sticker-less and design-less. I was going to have to fix that. I thought maybe Percy would help. Percy's locker, 664, was as surfer-y and starfish-strewn as ever, which made me laugh. The sound surprised me.

There was a note taped to my locker. It had some curses, a few insults, and some choice names for me. I tore it off, crumpled it up and set to work turning the lock. Pushing up on the lock, I heard a click and my locker creaked open. The piece of paper was hurled inside before I could give it another thought. Whoever had written it was stupid. But it still hurt my feelings. I'd thought I was over being bullied. Last year, I'd been in the hospital so much, it was impossible to notice the people talking about me.

"You okay?" I turned to see Thalia watching me, turning Bianca's necklace over in her fingers. Against her pale throat, it gleamed dark silver, reminding me painfully of my sister, its original owner. Bianca hadn't been that pale. Then again, nor had I when she was alive. I glared irately at my deathly pale, thin hands.

"I'm fine," I lied. "Just getting used to being alive."

Thalia sighed, taking a few steps toward me, hand outstretched to grasp my arm. "Nico, that was _last year_. That was last _winter_. You should—"

"What?" I asked. "Forget about it? I was dead, Thalia! For a minute or two or more, I was actually dead. I was… I was going to be with _her_."

Thalia gasped, clutching at her heart through her sweater. Why was she wearing a sweater in summer? _She_ didn't have the lingering chill of receding (or maybe approaching) death. Oh, well. Best not to be bitter.

"I'm _fine,_" I spat, twisting my mouth into a sneer. "Don't nag me about it."

She didn't argue with me. For once, Thalia actually backed down and let the other person win. I would have congratulated her if I weren't so mad.

"See you later."

I would have made a great exit, slamming the stairway door behind me and everything, but I crashed into someone on my way out. For a second, I thought it was Percy by the smell of the ocean lingering in their hair, but then I realized the roadblock was shorter than Percy, and it wasn't a boy.

"Annabeth," I muttered. She grabbed my arm.

"Nico?" I could tell she was surprised to see me looking just like I had that first day last year. I shrugged her off.

"I don't like to be touched, if you don't mind."

"Nico, are you okay?"

A bitter laugh slipped through my lips. "Sure, sure. I'm great."

She let me go too. Part of me wished she hadn't. Bianca wouldn't have, I thought. Bianca would have hugged me and let me cry on her shoulder while I told her everything that was _not fine_ about my life. Annabeth and Thalia were no help, and even Hazel couldn't replace that gaping hole that had been left by Bianca's death. There was only one person left who could make it hurt even a tiny bit less, and that was—

"Where do _you_ think you're going?" asked a playful voice. I glanced up, praying against all hope that it would be him.

"Leo!" I let a touch of happiness creep into my voice. Leo grinned crookedly.

"Hey, Nico. What's up? You okay?"

I felt like I could trust him. "No. No I'm not."

Leo stroked my cheek gently, his fingers very warm and very kind. I reached for his hand, wrapping my fingers around his. Leo smiled, leaning in to kiss me. If I hadn't felt so miserable, I might have been tempted to smile.

"I love you," he whispered. I nodded.

"I love you too."

"Do you think you can talk to me?" he asked. I shook my head. I _wanted_ to be able to, but I didn't think I was ready to explain everything. I just couldn't let him think it was his fault, _any_ of it. Not my sadness, not my heartache. None of it. It was my burden to bear alone.

"Not yet," I whispered, more for myself than anyone else. "Maybe in a while. I just need… I need…" I didn't know _what_ I needed. Did I need Leo here with me, or did I need him to be happy? Was he happy here, or would he be happier with someone else? Was I just a replacement for Hazel? Did he really care? I pushed that away, and I pushed Leo away too. "I've got to get to class."

I could feel his eyes on my back as I left. He was worried, too worried for my taste. I didn't like worrying people. When people got worried, they always bugged me. It was a constant torrent of _are you okay_ and _can I help you_? I just wanted to be left alone. But how could I be alone with so many friends looking out for me?

**A/N: Here's the sequel, folks! As you can probably guess from the bolded name at the top, this will be a MULTI perspective story! Yay! **

**Happy readings!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Piper**

I spent my summer with my dad. But that really meant I spent it in my room, tugging idly at loose threads on my shirts, wishing the summer would be over already. Dad was filming another one of his movies. He didn't have time for me, his own _daughter_. The day I got home was the day he had to leave. Before he got into his care, he took me by the shoulders, held me at arms length and gave me what he must have thought was a reassuring smile.

"I'll be home before you know it, Pipes," he said. "But you know I have to work."

What a lie. He didn't have to work another day in his life. Heck, my great _grandchildren_ wouldn't have to work a day in their lives, maybe even _their_ great grandchildren. And Dad didn't have to catch that plane for another _five_ hours. There was no way it would take him that long to get to the airport, go through security, get on the plane and take off. He was just getting away from me.

Needless to say, stepping back into that dark, empty hallway was a blessing. Of course, it wasn't empty by the time I got there. I was nearly an _hour_ late, and the halls were buzzing with life. Makeup-faced girls traveled in cliques, showing off airbrushed pictures of their summers and their boyfriends. The mean kids traveled in one large pack, picking on anyone they thought was small enough. More than once, I found myself using the manipulative charm I'd sworn not to use, but it was only to save some poor kid's neck. The bullies left, looking somewhat annoyed, but they didn't bother argue. Before I could help the kid up, he was gone. I doubted he'd even taken the time to wipe the blood from his nose.

"You're welcome," I muttered, rubbing my sweaty palms off on my jeans. Whose idea had it been to wear fall clothes on a hot day? Oh, yeah. There was no one else in the house but me, so it had to have been mine.

_Shut up, Piper,_ I told myself. _No problem_. I shut up, or rather my mind did. Nothing but the most idiotic thoughts passed through my head until I found who I was looking for. Jason.

He looked better than ever: blond hair, blue eyes, laughing with some of his friends from the soccer and basketball teams. His face was pinkish from laughter, and there was a huge, silly grin plastered on his face. As I got closer, I could hear what he was saying.

"…She could totally kick my ass! I mean, like, big time!"

"No way, man!" one of his friends said. Jason nodded.

"Oh, she could. Piper's really—Oh, hey, Piper!" He grabbed me and gave me a kiss, right in front of his buddies. I slapped him.

"Jason, what were you saying about me?" I asked, trying to sound like the stereotypical I'm-going-to-kill-you-later girlfriend. Apparently it worked because Jason's friends laughed, backing their way towards the door.

"Hey, man, we'll, uh, catch up later, okay?"

Jason looked befuddled. "Okay… What was that for, Pipes?" He was grinning.

"Nothing," I smiled. "I just wanted to say hello to my amazing boyfriend."

"And scare off all his friends," Jason grimaced, but it wasn't a mean grimace. It was the kind of grimace he gave when he was thinking, or when someone made a good point. Something flickered deep in his eyes, but he held it back. "We should get to class."

I nodded, but I wasn't really listening anymore. Something had caught my eye, something far away on the other end of the hall. It was the kid I'd saved earlier. Funny… in this light, his aviator jacket and black jeans looked a hell of a lot like…

"Excuse me, Jason," I said. "I have to go talk to someone."

And with that, I was gone, set off in the direction of Nico di Angelo, who was dabbing at his broken nose with the edge of his sleeve. Hisses of pain escaped his mouth as he assessed the damage. From a few feet away, I could tell it was pretty bad. I could also tell that Nico wasn't going to take kindly to my concern. Obsidian eyes peered warily out from a pale, gaunt face. He looked just like he had during the previous year (affectionately dubbed _the Disaster Year_). As I approached, his eyes fixed on me, welling up with panicked tears. Before I could even get a word out, his excuses were already laid out in front of me.

"I-I was walking, and I, uh, I walked into a-an open locker—yeah, that was it—an open locker." He looked at me expectantly as if to say _your move_. I treated it just like a game of chess, thinking carefully before I went in for the checkmate.

"Or… the locker walked into you?" Nice, Piper. Real smooth. Nico glowered, his eyebrows nearly merging with his eyelashes. Through them, he stared up at me, calculating what his next move should be.

"I walked into _it_," he insisted. "Lockers aren't alive. They can't walk."

Making the tiniest noise of dissatisfaction in the back of my throat, I nodded. Nico said something else, something about how he didn't need my help, and started to get up. I grabbed his arm. With a hiss of pain, he slowed down.

"What do you want with me, Piper?"

"Your nose is _broken_, Nico. It'll set crooked. I'm taking you to the nurse, and I'm getting your dad."

Nico winced. "No, please don't do that."

He looked so miserable, and I almost gave in, but I held my ground, put on my most persuasive voice and said, "I'm going."

Nico glared through his eyelashes, which was _incredibly_ scary. Still, I'd made up my mind. I was going to Nico's dad because I was a good friend. That was what good friends did, wasn't it?

I would have stayed in my thoughts forever if I hadn't dragged Nico right into a certain green-eyed guy and his girlfriend. Percy Jackson. And he was very, _very_ worried.

**A/N: Here's my first attempt at really writing from Piper's point of view. I've learned that I like her a lot better in AU than I do in the actual books!**

**Questions? Comments? Suggestions? **

**Also, RevolutionaryPhantom (my good friend and a great writer) has a new ****_Percy Jackson _****story up. It's called "When To Die," and it's incredibly beautiful. Check it out. I promise it won't disappoint. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Percy**

It wasn't odd running into Nico on the first day of school. It was odd that his nose was broken and his sleeve was soaked with blood. And what was definitely odd was the fact that Piper was dragging him down the hall, muttering under her breath about his nose.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" I cried. "Were are _you_ going?"

Nico groaned, shoving his hair back from his eyes. Piper glared at him and started talking a mile a minute. Apparently someone had punched Nico's nose in, she saved his ass (her words, not mine), and now he was lying about it. Piper was livid, more at the bully than at Nico, and she was taking him to the nurse whether he wanted her to or not. Nico was less than pleased. He kept throwing in things about how he was fine and how it didn't even hurt anymore, all the while touching the broken cartilage gingerly, trying to assess the damage.

I was no doctor, but it looked pretty bad. He'd have a crooked nose even _after_ it was reset. The cartilage was all but shattered, and he looked like he was having trouble breathing. What made me feel _really_ sick, though, was the blood dripping sluggishly from his nose, running down his face and trickling into his mouth. Drops of it spattered his collar like paint. I locked eyes with Piper.

"You were taking him to the nurse?" A nod. "Let's go."

Together, Piper and I dragged Nico down the stairs, through a crowd of freshman, and into the nurse's office. Mr. Apollo (we didn't use his last name, even though we all knew it was Solace) gasped and sat Nico down in a comfortable chair. The cool thing about Mr. Apollo was that he was certified for all kinds of medical practices. Unfortunately, he had only been hired _after_ the disaster year, and I didn't think he would've been able to fix that. Still, he fixed Nico's nose and taped it up with a nose splint (if those even exist). Nico winced.

"Now it's catching up with me," h muttered. "The pain, that is. Leo's going to kill me."

"Why?" I asked, sounding even dumber than I felt. Nico laughed drily.

"He'll have to avoid my nose. Leo's really into touching foreheads and noses. I think it's cute."

I laughed. At first, I'd thought Leo and Nico's relationship would weird me out, but it didn't, not even in the beginning. They seemed to fit together perfectly, like two parts of one whole. It was kind of touching. Not that I was sappy or anything.

"Well, then don't snog in the hallway!" Piper cried. Nico blushed ruby red.

"We don't," he protested. "We're young and in love, okay?"

I snorted. "And it's not like you and Jason can tell him off."

Before it became an all out fight, Mr. Apollo laughed. Nico's nose was fixed, he told us. We could get back to class. Bummer. I had science first period. I was tempted to fake a cough, but I figured that wouldn't do anything to help. Mr. Apollo knew medicine like he knew the back of his hand. I wouldn't be fooling him. So I said my goodbyes like a good student and ducked from the room, Nico and Piper trailing behind. By the time they caught up with me, we were already in front of my classroom. I high-fived Nico, gave Piper a hug and raced to find a seat.

The class was almost empty. In fact, I was one of five kids. Most people just cut, I guessed, and some kids still weren't back from their summer holidays. The teacher, a rather old man with bushy sideburns and a lab coat, was taking attendance.

"Jackson Perseus!" he called just as I sat down.

"Present, and it's Percy!" I responded. The teacher sneered. I glanced at his name on the board: Mr. Mauvais. If I hadn't been so preoccupied, I might have cracked up. Mr. Bad? I hoped that was just a reflection of his teaching skills and not his personality. Pretty soon, it turned out I was in luck. He gave us most of the class to "study." I spent my time texting Annabeth, who almost never answered, and only did to tell me about the cool things she was learning in advanced architecture. Thalia, however, texted me all the time. Once, she took a picture of Annabeth and sent it to me with the message: _Hey, Percy! Check out your smart girlfriend!_ The picture was Annabeth with her hand raised, slightly blurred because she was waving it to get the teacher's attention. Like the idiot I was and am, I texted back: _What class are you in_? Thalia replied with: _Literature, dumbass. _

Every day at lunch, I heard stories about Annabeth's classes. She leaned on my arm, chatting about the lab she was doing in biology.

"We've been dissecting and taking DNA samples from various species of marine life!" She must have felt my muscles tense because she added, "All really common ones, Percy, and they were born in captivity."

That didn't make me feel better, but I pretended it did. Nico sat down across from us, grinning.

"You'll never guess what I pulled off," he said. I frowned.

"What?"

"I signed up for advanced Italian, and I'm way better than the teacher. She can't pronounce a damn thing, and she's barely fluent."

Thalia ruffled his hair. "Cheater," she muttered. "You spoke Italian _before_ you spoke English."

Nico laughed, looking at Annabeth. "It's true," he told her. "When I first met Thalia, I still had to ask for translation."

"But…" Annabeth faltered. I could tell she was working it all out in her head. "You don't have… Your accent is…"

I clarified for her, explaining how Nico had had a pretty thick accent when we met him, but accents tend to adapt at a young age. Over the course of four years, it had all but disappeared, surfacing only when he was under extreme pressure. Annabeth was surprised that it hadn't surfaced during _the Disaster Year_. To be frank, so was I.

With a dark chuckle, Nico picked up his spoon. I noticed with pride that he had gained a couple of pounds over the summer. But he was still painfully, heartbreakingly thin—too thin to be healthy. Leo watched him carefully, like he didn't fully trust him with a dining utensil.

"_Non fissarmi a mi_," Nico muttered. Leo laughed.

"_Eres lindo_," he replied. _You're cute_. Nico blushed, shoving a spoonful of applesauce into his mouth.

"_Taci, _Leo!" he snapped. Leo grinned.

"Kiss me, Romeo!" he whispered dramatically. Nico was more than happy to oblige.

"Ah, dammit!" he hissed. His nose had collided with Leo's. I guessed that didn't feel too good. Leo instantly jerked his head back, apologizing profusely.

Hazel put on a look of seasickness. "You guys are making me ill," she groaned. Frank laughed.

"Yeah, could you tone down the cuteness?"

Leo stuck his tongue out. Nico stuck his spoon back into his mouth. Annabeth laughed, leaning over to kiss me, almost gloating as she did. Her lips were soft and warm.

"All right, cupcakes!" said a new voice. "I'm Coach Hedge, and I'm your new gym teacher. No kissing in the cafeteria!"

Jason, Piper and Leo's eyes widened. Jason gasped.

"Oh no, it's Coach Hedge!" he cried. Piper shook her head.

"He's followed us, I swear."

I furrowed my brow. "Wait… who's Coach Hedge?"

**A/N: Yes, readers, I brought Coach Hedge into the story for some comic relief. This year, they're going to win those All-School Olympics. **

**Any suggestions? Questions? Comments? **


	4. Chapter 4

**Leo**

I had no idea what Coach Hedge was doing at the _OIFTY_, and I didn't think I _wanted_ to know. The guy was a menace. He marched through the cafeteria, swinging his baseball bat and giving pointed looks at Nico and I. I noticed he wasn't giving these looks to the other couples. I was already dreading PE class.

"What's he staring at?" Nico asked, his lips brushing my ear. I shrugged.

"I don't know. Probably assessing our pushup strengths."

Nico looked confused. "You know this guy?" he asked. I nodded.

"He was the PE teacher at another school I went to. _Hated_ me. He keeps order with that." I pointed at the baseball bat. Wariness flickered in Nico's eyes, but he didn't look half as scared as everyone else did. I figured he didn't need to. His dad was the principal. Maybe dying the year before was a proper excuse to cut gym class. But who could be absolutely sure?

"And he was scary?" Nico asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. He was. Really, really scary."

Nico decided to defy all new laws by kissing me again. I was all too happy to oblige. Nico's lips were, as always, kind of chapped. He grabbed my hand, giggling like a lunatic. And that's when I saw it. There was pain etched all over his face. Under the giggling and the smiles, he was still in so much pain. His clothes still hung off him like he was a skeleton, and he was pale… very pale. His hands were cold. _He_ was cold. I shivered.

"Are you okay?" Nico asked. I nodded. I couldn't let him know how worried I was about him.

"Yeah," I lied. "Just tired. I've got… I've got a test tomorrow. I should really…"

I got up, running for the door. My heart was pounding and my head was reeling. What was I doing? What would running away do? I was almost a grown man (well… in two years I would be eighteen), and I shouldn't have been breaking down in front of everyone. I was the laughs guy. I was the guy who didn't care about feelings—not other peoples' feelings, not my own—and I was the guy who never broke. But then _Nico_ had come along and turned me into something I wasn't. His illness and temporary death had weakened me. I wasn't strong anymore… if I had ever really been strong. That made me angry. Who did he think he was?

Of course, there was no test to study for. I knew Nico would be pissed off when he found out, but I was too mad to care. So what if he thought I was mean? I _was_ mean! I was Leo Valdez. I was the guy who had a crush on Hazel and didn't give a shit about Nico. Or… I should have been. Why did it have to be _him_? Why did I fall in love with _him_? What god hated me enough to do that to me?

"Leo?" There was a knock on the door. It was Piper's voice. "Leo, are you in there?"

I was tempted to stay silent. Piper was one of those girls who could talk the toughest guy into breaking down and sobbing, but she was also a great help. And she could keep a secret like nobody's business.

Just as I heard her turn away, I called, "Come in!"

The door clicked open. I closed my eyes and waited until I felt the bed shift as she sat down before opening them again. Yep. There was Piper, wearing a pale pink flannel shirt and ripped up jeans. Her eyes were narrowed.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked. I wanted to scream. She wasn't asking it in a mean kind of way, and that was part of the problem. If she were angry, then I could be angry too. I could fight fire with fire and burn the whole damn place to the ground. But I couldn't fight water with fire. I'd lose.

"There's nothing wrong with me," I said. "You know me. I'm… I'm…" I couldn't think of a joke fast enough. Piper sighed.

"Look, Nico's all worried about—"

"Oh yeah?" I didn't mean to sound so harsh. Or maybe I did. "Well who says I give a damn about Nico?"

This made Piper angry. If nothing else, smiting "true love" made her incredibly mad. She stood up, red-faced and searching for the words to tell me off. Just when I thought she had found them, she did the worst thing she could possibly have done. She turned around and left the room.

"Wait—" It was too late. Piper was gone and so was my self-esteem. I banged my head against the wall behind my bed, wishing I were less stupid or maybe a bit more eloquent. I wouldn't have been in this mess, with Piper and Nico and basically everyone else mad at me.

"_Eres un estúpido_," I told myself. "_No le gustas a nadie._"

It was a pretty bleak thing to say, but I was feeling pretty bleak. I wrote in a brief complaint to my teachers, telling them I wouldn't be well enough to attend the rest of my classes for the day, and then I rolled over, pulled the covers up to my ears and tried to fall asleep. I couldn't, of course, but even just sitting alone in misery was better than facing my friends.

No one came to get me for dinner. No one came to check on me before going to their rooms. I thought Piper must have told them about my little display of kindness that afternoon. Not even Nico stopped by. But I did get a text from him.

_Feel better, okay?_ It wasn't a request. It was an order.

_No problem,_ I texted back. _See you tomorrow_.

I didn't know if I'd be able to get up tomorrow. I was feeling sick and weak, like I wouldn't ever be able to stand up again. I wished I could take back everything I'd said and done, but at the same time I was almost glad I'd said them.

_Gods, Leo,_ I thought. _Make up your mind or go to Hell. Maybe either way will send you there anyways. _

I could be with Nico and be the Leo I was starting to get used to—kind, caring, friendly, outgoing, compassionate, sweet, helpful, loving, a bit overly affectionate—or I could be alone and be the Leo I had always been… just maybe a bit gloomier and angrier than before. Either way, I would still love him, and either way I would hate myself.

**Thank you for reading!**


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